Challenge:SPEW: NAHouse: HufflepuffProject Name: Wedding InvitationsProject Page Link (if available): not yet!Brief Description: My beginning of January involved some major dedication to a very important craft; my sister's invitations to her wedding! Oh boy were they labor intensive!! There we a lot of initials steps that had to be made before they were finished. To start, I had to draw a tree for the front of the inivitation that would be later cut out my my cricut cutter. So I drew the tree, scanned it, edited it photoshop, and with much trial and error, I got the cricut cutter to cut it out how I wanted. I had to cut out 50+ of those bad boys. Then I had to fold each to make the card. Next was the actual invite information that would go inside. I designed those in photoshop being very careful to make sure I had the heart in the right place to match up with the heart in the tree. I had those printed out, cropped them, and glued them into the invite. Then my sister decided she wanted a vellum piece to go behind the tree to mask the writing in the inside some. So, more cutting and gluing! There was also a pocket on the back of the invites for the card that had the website and other important information. I designed the pocket, scanned it and had the cricut cutter cut them out for me. The card I designed with photoshop and had printed and then cut them to size. Whew! It was a busy busy week! But, they turned out pretty good! ^_^Project Picture:

This year, I made my family members cowls for Christmas on my loom. They were quick projects and could bang out one generally in a day with constant interruptions and unfocused work. I have just tons of yarn, so this was a great destashing project!

The first stitch used is called a garter stitch where you knit one row and then perle the next for a total of 5 rows. The next for the main part is called the 3 step stitch, and its very easy and fun. Here is a link to the tutorial I used for the 3 step stitch: http://www.loomahat.com/three-step-stitch/#comment-60955

My first one wasn't as nice because I didn't use the garter stitch to top and end it. But, I was still learning. I hadn't ever done any other stitches besides the basic on my loom before. They got better and better as I went along.

My daughter is just starting to learn to talk. I wanted to make her a fun book so she could learn to identify some of her family members and encourage her to talk. She loves books!

I started with a board book that I found at a thrift store. I put white paint on each page to block out the images so they wouldn't show through when I added my own. Using photoshop, I edited my pictures to the size I wanted and added the text to the bottom of each picture. I had them printed so that I would have a nice glossy page (my printer sucks). I had it printed on cardstock, but I wish I would have had it printed on regular paper. The cardstock made the pages a little bulkier than I wanted and makes the book not close all the way. Oh well! I cut out my pages and glued them on with mod podge. I tried coating the top of the page with mod podge but found that I just peeled off. It didn't like that paper much. So, I left the tops of the pages as is for the rest.

My nephew changed his room to a monster theme this summer, so I wanted to make him something to go with his new theme. I had a bunch of crazy fake fur on hand, so this was a great opportunity to use some of it up! I started by cutting out two squares. I cut out and pinned on my felt pieces for the eyes and mouth and zigzag stitched them on with my sewing machine. I sewed around the edges and left an opening for the fiberfil and then hand sewed the hole closed. Tada, monster pillow!

When my mom and were out in December, we went to Starbucks and she pointed out a super cute mug of a boy hanging from a balloon. I snapped a picture with the hopes of recreating it for her in a less expensive manner. I bought a plain mug and a pen what worked on ceramic surfaces and drew out my recreation. I altered it somewhat into a little girl and gave her pig tails like my daughter. We call my mom Nuni for grandma, and now Nuni has her little toddler on a mug.

Hey all! I'm back! Time to bombard you all with my crafts! December was a busy month of crafting for me!!!

Prompt: December - New ZealandTeam: MultimediaBonus Points: NAProject Name: Brown CowlProject Link: NABrief Description: As you may know, there are lots of sheep in New Zealand. Sheep make wool, wool makes yarn, and BAM, yarn makes cowl! I whipped up a lot of cowls for christmas presents, here is a lovely brown one that shows my mastery over my loom and the pattern I found online. My first one wasn't as nice. The first stitch is called a garter stitch where you knit one row and then perle the next for a total of 5 rows, and then continue on with the 3 step stitch, and its very easy. Here is a link to the tutorial I used for the 3 step stitch: http://www.loomahat.com/three-step-stitch/#comment-60955Project Picture:

Prompt: December - IndiaTeam: MultimediaBonus Points: NAProject Name: Green CowlProject Link: NABrief Description: Another cowl, this one for my mom. The yarn I used is really soft and silky, and may actually be either a silk or bamboo blend, and has shimmer parts which is reminiscent of a sari. I've had this yarn in my stash for a long time. I bought it with the intention of making something for my mom, but never got around to doing so. I'm glad I finally got to put it to use!Project Picture:

Prompt: December - Galapagos IslandsTeam: MultimediaBonus Points: NAProject Name: Curious George ShirtProject Link: NABrief Description: As you know, Darwin's theory is based off the evolution of monkeys into men. So, here is Curious George! A curious little monkey! I participated in a christmas swap with my september mom group on Facebook. So, I made my partner's son a shirt, since he loves Curious George. I used freezer paper stenciling to create this, and then freehanded the lines and details using fabric paint.Project Picture:

Class: AstronomySPEW: NAHouse: HufflepuffProject Name: Stepping StoneProject Page Link (if available): noneBrief Description: Last year for christmas I made my mom a stepping stone with my LO's foot prints on it. I thought it would be a cool annual gift and she could make a path one day where you could walk down and watch her little feet grow. So, following that tradition, baby bean and I made another stepping stone from a kit. It follows the requirements of having glass pieces embedded. Its hard to see her foot prints in the picture, but its there, as well as the year stamped in.Project Picture:

Class: CoMCSPEW: NAHouse: HufflepuffProject Name: Wedding ShoesProject Page Link (if available): Brief Description: In honor of the fabulousness of unicorns, in all their glittery glory, I present shoes for my sister's wedding. The tips are four layers of glitter applied with mod podge with a sparkly pendant hot-glued on. Project Picture:

Class: DivinationSPEW:House: HufflepuffProject Name: GarterProject Page Link (if available):Brief Description: As mentioned, my sister will be getting married in April. There is a lot to do to prepare for this big, life changing event. Here is a small thing that will go towards it; a garter! It is stretch lace sewn together with a dangly earring sewn on and a vintage button on top. The little lady button was on my great grandma's garter, who was married in 1920. We removed it from her garter and put it on my own, and I just took it off and put it onto my sister's. It could be her some old, something new, something borrowed, and something blue all in one little package.Project Picture:

Class: SoARSPEW:House: HufflepuffProject Name: Bath BombsProject Page Link (if available):Brief Description: I've been wanting to make bath bombs for a while, and I finally got to make some up for my family members for Christmas. What's better than a nice, relaxing, beneficial soak? I made three different kinds: peppermint, oatmeal w/ orange, and calendula w/ lavender. They are pretty simplistic to make, with the ingredients being baking soda, citric acid, and epsom salts as the main ingredients.Project Picture:

Challenge: Bertie Beans - SatsumaSPEW:House: HufflepuffProject Name: Green CowlProject Page Link (if available):Brief Description: What's more traditional than yarn? ^_^ Yes, yet another cowl! This one is for my mom. I used a yarn that I bought years ago with the intention of making her something with it. The yarn is very silky and soft, and it was pretty fickle to work with, but we managed to work together.Project Picture:

Class: December AlchemySPEW: naHouse: HufflepuffProject Name: Monster PillowProject Page Link (if available):Brief Description: My nephew has a monster themed bedroom that his mom put together for him this year. So for Christmas, I made him this monster pillow for his bed! Its square in shape, which fits the requirements. The pillow is made from some fake fur I had on hand and the eyes and mouth are felt that are zigzagged sewn on and then stuffed with fiberfil. I'm pretty happy with how it came out!Project Picture:

Class: December HerbologySPEW: naHouse: HufflepuffProject Name: Purple CowlProject Page Link (if available):Brief Description: I really wanted to make some cowls for christmas to keep my family warm, but I lack the necessary knitting/crocheting skills. But I CAN loom knit! AND I learned a new stitch! This was my first go at it, so its not perfect by any means. But, I'm pretty happy with my first attempt! And that I'm destashing from the crazy amounts of yarn I own when I can't even knit/crochet. ^_^ This stitch is called the 3 step stitch, and its very easy. Here is a link to the tutorial I used: http://www.loomahat.com/three-step-stitch/#comment-60955Project Picture:

Class: December DADASPEW: naHouse: HufflepuffProject Name: White CowlProject Page Link (if available):Brief Description: Another cowl, this one white and fuzzy (with silver flecks, which is so pretty!) This was the last one I made (out of 4), so I got much better at the stitch, and even added a new stitch at the beginning and end to make it look prettier, and learned how to cast off better. The first stitch is called a garter stitch where you knit one row and then perle the next for a total of 5 rows, and then continue on with the 3 step stitch.Project Picture:

Class: December FlyingSPEW: naHouse: HufflepuffProject Name: Family Board BookProject Page Link (if available):Brief Description: My daughter is 15 months old today, and she is just starting to even think about talking. I want to help her to learn to identify family members with their pictures and names, so I made this board book for her for christmas. I started with a used board book from the thrift store, had the pictures and words printed off, and glued them to the pages. I think next time I won't have them printed on cardstock and just regular paper, since it made the pages more bulky and harder to keep closed. Oh well! I doubt my daughter will mind. ^_^Project Picture:

Class: December CharmsSPEW: naHouse: HufflepuffProject Name: Brown CowlProject Page Link (if available):Brief Description: Yup, another cowl. These babies took me a day each of undiligent work (since I have to chase around a toddler and do other stuff) so it was a relatively easy project for me to do. Which I love, because I loose interest pretty quick. Another family member will be staying warm!Project Picture:

Class: December Muggle StudiesSPEW: naHouse: HufflepuffProject Name: Multicolored CowlProject Page Link (if available):Brief Description: Just when you thought you were done seeing cowls, BOOM, another cowl! I've had this yarn forever and its so pretty with the different colors and metallic threads. I'm so happy I finally got to use it!! This will keep my family member warm. ^_^Project Picture: